Applying For Uk Tourist Visa - Q Pls?

[kunash]

Hi, i am already starting to think about what papers i need to get ready to bring my Thai girlfriend to the UK next April. We are engaged, but i think it will be easier to apply for a tourist visa, as this is the first time.

I need;

Evidence of spouse / civil partner's accommodation in UK, e.g. report from local Council, mortgage company, tenancy agreement etc.

- I own my house outright, i have no documents to prove this. will a sworn statement from me be sufficient that i own my own house. not sure what a report from local council is.

Evidence of relationship – photographs, personal correspondence (cards, letters, e-mails, telephone bills etc..)

- i can produce evidence through photos of us together in front of hotel signs, ( BKK , rayong, hua hin, koh samui ). evidence from plane tickets, and flight details, and hotel confirmations. and postcards sent to each other. i wont be photocopying our MSN chat logs. when she applies, i would have seen her on 3 holidays in thailand - 18 weeks in total. over 9 months

Evidence of spouse / civil partner's current financial position in the UK, e.g. confirmation of employment, salary details, recent bank statements etc.

- i dont actually work as such, i own some properties which i rent out through an agency. i guess i can get a letter from the agency saying that i own a number of properties.

my thai girlfriend does not want to use a visa company for the application. she will only have 1 opportunity, i think, to get the visa, as she only has 3 weeks holiday a year ( april ), so we cannot afford to mess the application up. need to get everything right. i feel that i can provide all the information they need. she has a desire to return to thailand as she works there ( she will have a letter from her employer ).

thanks, and any replies welcome

edit; will i need to get myself a bio data passport? i only have the older type of passport

[theoldgit]

By use of the term "Spouse/Civil Partner" you seem to be referring to a family visit, you state that the lady is your girlfriend and you don't seem to be living together so she needs to apply for a tourist visa.

Basically she needs to convince an ECO that the visit is genuine and affordable and, probably most importantly that she will leave the UK at the end of her trip.

With regard to the purpose of the trip point out if she is staying with you or you are travelling for the duration, you have already mentioned the length of the trip, but possibly include a draft itinerary.

Explain who is paying for the trip, if it's her then all well and good, she just needs to prove that she can afford it. If it's you then that's also ok, again you need to prove it's affordable and reasonable for you to do so, you need to prove that you can afford it, bank statements are the norm with evidence of a consistent income and in your sponsors letter include details of why you are paying for the trip, and possible your future plans.

Evidence of employment should be regarded as a reason to return, especially when you say it's only for a three week holiday, it's amazing how many Thai employers seem content to allow their staff to have a six month holiday.

Not sure why you need proof of your house, this is a tourist visa and not a settlement visa, though if she is going to stay there for the duration then maybe ok.

You seem to have prove of your relationship make sure the photos and hotel receipts match up to your flight tickets and passport stamps, MSN logs might be helpful so I'm not sure why you didn't want to include them. Make sure you do a detailed letter of sponsorship outlining your relationship, your plans for the holiday and for the future, but don't re-write "War and Peace" make your letter two or three pages and easily readable.

You have probably seen the list of supporting documents required, http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/images/VisitSocial.pdf

You will not need a new passport, when they mention the bio data page they mean the page with your photo and printed details on, remember you are only sending a copy so they couldn't read the chip anyway.

I think your girlfriend is right in not wanting to use an agent on such a straightforward application, proper agents would probably tell you the same.

[kunash]

thanks for a quick reply - i pasted the requirements from a spouse/settlement visa request, so yeah, a tourist visa will require less information. ie i wont need to show i own the house, etc.

my TGF has good reason to return to thailand so that will help, plus i would like to her to visit me many times in the future so i dont want to jeopardise any future visa.

she will be applying for the visa the beginning of january 2011. i will be seeing her next in october 2010. when i go to thailand in october, i will take with me all the bank statements, letters, proof of relationship. this will only go up to october ( and not cover november or december ). do i need to post to her november and december bank statements ? or will it be ok just up to october. if i do decide to print out the MSN chat logs, would it matter too much that november and december logs are missing?

if i do include the chat logs, do i have to include every sentence that we spoke, or can i include just a page of chat logs from every day we spoke - this will be easier

thanks

[7by7]

The supporting evidence provided should be as up to date as possible; especially the financial evidence. If she is applying in January then evidence of finances only up to October may not be acceptable. I would post her up to date financial evidence shortly before she submits her application.

I don't know much about MSN chat logs, but the entry clearance officer is not interested in the content of your conversations; merely that they have taken place. If you phone her you wouldn't need recordings of those calls, just a phone bill showing the calls would be sufficient; if you e-mailed her then just the headings would do, not the actual content. Can you do similar with MSN?

[kunash]

The supporting evidence provided should be as up to date as possible; especially the financial evidence. If she is applying in January then evidence of finances only up to October may not be acceptable. I would post her up to date financial evidence shortly before she submits her application.

I don't know much about MSN chat logs, but the entry clearance officer is not interested in the content of your conversations; merely that they have taken place. If you phone her you wouldn't need recordings of those calls, just a phone bill showing the calls would be sufficient; if you e-mailed her then just the headings would do, not the actual content. Can you do similar with MSN?

ok thanks, will post to her my bank statements nearer the time.

i dont phone her or email her really. i only talk to her on MSN. i did start copying the chat logs and i think i have about 3 weeks worth copied, but it is very time consuming, especially if you talk for about 5 hours a day. i do a screen capture, then print that in duplicate. the chat log shows the conversation as it happens - no headings or anything.

i was told it wasnt worth doing. but then was told it was. it would be easier if i could just copy one page from every day. i think i might just copy one or two pages per day - this at least shows that we talk every day.

[boarbaboon]

Hi Kanush

I have posted this on a similer topic and it should help you too

What the forum says is pretty accurate, you basically have to give every bit of information you can think of, basically your whole life.

One thing i would say is that if you have alot of information, place it all in a folder and have clear sections and index of the information. This will make it easier for the ECO to refer to the info find easily. The ECO's only have limited time for each application.

This was a valuble lesson i have learnt as recently i helped my GF apply with alot of information but no folder and indexing, which resulted in the ECO missing important bank documents which lead to a refusal.

Hope this helps